Inquiry Cetacean bycatch

摘要

Every year, more and more dolphins and porpoises die in fishing nets and wash up on British shores, the victims of our increasingly ruthless quest for a fishy dinner David Nicholson-Lord assesses the implications. We're fishing so widely and indiscriminately that we're catching vast numbers of dolphins, whales and porpoises (cetaceans) in our nets every year. A report compiled by Dr Andrew Read and Dr Simon Northridge, of the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee, reported that a staggering 300,000 cetaceans are dying in fishing gear around the world every year. According to Dr Paul Jepson, of the UK Marine Mammals Stranding project, the problem is getting worse. "Since 1999-2000, strandings of common dolphins and porpoises in South-west England have easily doubled," he says. The project has identified eight species of cetacean as victims of bycatch, including pilot whales and striped and Risso's dolphins.